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Under the Canopy
On Outdoor Journal Radio's Under the Canopy podcast, former Minister of Natural Resources, Jerry Ouellette takes you along on the journey to see the places and meet the people that will help you find your outdoor passion and help you live a life close to nature and Under The Canopy.
Episodes
164 episodes
Episode 163: Durham College’s Living Lab For Sustainable Food
A college campus isn’t where most people picture the future of farming, but that’s exactly why this conversation surprised us. We’re joined by Kelly O’Brien, Associate Dean at Durham College, to talk about how their urban farms in Whitby and Aj...
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Episode 162: Ontario Stone and Gravel
You probably don’t think about gravel until a dump truck slows traffic or a new pit proposal sparks a neighbourhood fight, but the truth is bigger: your roads, sidewalks, schools, hospitals, and even the concrete under your feet all begin as st...
Episode 161: Cheese Under The Canopy
Cheese gets called “simple food” right up until you hear what actually goes into making it. We start with a bit of real life under the canopy, from sore muscles and gravel work to staying sharp outdoors after close calls with coyotes. Then we p...
Episode 160: When Trees Send Warnings And Humans Build For Disaster
A rebar job should be about steel, skill, and showing up on time, right? We learned it can also be about trust at a level most people never see. Garrett joins me for a real-world update on life, work, and fatherhood, then walks through what it ...
Episode 159: Green Tea Caffeine Depends On Farming, Processing, And How You Brew It
Tea talk gets weird fast: “orange pekoe has orange,” green tea is always low caffeine, and tea bags are loaded with microplastics. We wanted real answers, so we brought back tea industry veteran John Snell to help us separate myth from chemistr...
Epiosde 158: Cold Brew Under The Canopy
Cold drinks dominate the world, but most people still treat tea like it only belongs in a mug. We go the other direction and get specific: how we make Chaga cold brew that actually tastes good, how long we steep it, and how you can do it at hom...
Episode 157: Foraging Finds And Garlic Growing Tips From A Master Gardener
You can grow a great garden and still lose a crop if you miss one invisible detail. We get into that reality with garlic, where a listener question opens the door to the unglamorous stuff that actually decides your harvest: nematodes, leek moth...
Episode 156: Mushroom Grow Kits Made Simple
Fresh mushrooms don’t have to be a grocery store gamble. We’re talking with Corey from Mushrooms of the Valley, tucked near the Madawaska River in Ontario’s Hastings Highlands, about what it really takes to grow gourmet mushrooms at home and wh...
Episode 155: Wildfire Smoke And Forest Health
Smoke in the air has a way of snapping our attention back to the natural world. We start with what it feels like when wildfire haze rolls in, then zoom out to the less obvious forces that shape forest health every day, the kind you might notice...
Episode 154: Why Spruce Trees Turn Rusty Red
Your spruce trees look fine one week, then the needles fade to rusty red and the worry sets in. We’ve been seeing the same thing around cottage country, so we called someone who lives in the details of Ontario forest health: David Dutkiewicz, a...
Episode 153: Bees Under The Canopy
A bear can erase an entire beekeeping season overnight. A single plant choice can change how many butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees show up in your yard for months. We follow those two realities into a wide-ranging outdoor conversation that s...
Episode 152: New Baby Joy, Tick Safety, And A Fresh Chaga Summer Brew
A tiny newborn can turn the strongest routine into a brand-new adventure, and that’s exactly where we start. I sit down with my son Garrett to celebrate the arrival of baby Gritten, unpack the story behind his one-of-a-kind name, and talk hones...
Episode 151: New Chaga Tea Blends Plus Practical Gardening Answers
Boiling water for chaga tea sounds simple, but it sparks a surprisingly big question: are we helping extraction, or hurting the good stuff? We dig into why we put “boiling” on the packaging, what many chaga studies actually do when they prepare...
Episode 150: How Ontario Manages Forests And Herbicide Use
A spray plane over a cutover can spark instant outrage, but the real story sits in the details: what’s being sprayed, why it’s used, what gets protected, and what trade-offs we’re actually making. We start with a listener-driven question on Cha...
Episode 149: Stone, Sand, And Gravel Explained For Everyday Life
The modern world feels like steel and glass, but it actually starts with something far less glamorous: stone, sand, and gravel. We sit down with Sharon Armstrong, Executive Director of the Ontario Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association, to unpack ...
Episode 148: A Forest Classroom For Curious Kids
A kid points at a tree and says, “What is that?” and suddenly you’re talking about pollination, fungi, water, carbon, and how a forest quietly runs like a living system. We head to Millbrook Elementary School for a hands-on walk with grade thre...
Episode 147: How Raised Garden Beds Boost Early Harvests And Save Your Knees
A good garden doesn’t start with a miracle fertilizer. It starts with smarter structure, better soil, and a few hard-earned lessons from people who grow things for real.We’re recording from the Lindsay Thursday Market at Wilson Fields a...
Episode 146: Bring Back The Salmon
Lake Ontario used to hold one of the largest freshwater Atlantic salmon populations anywhere on Earth and then, within a single century, it was gone. That disappearance wasn’t a mystery or “just nature.” It was the predictable outcome of overfi...
Episode 145: What Ticks And Parasites Are Doing To Moose
Your dog is your best buddy, so tick season hits differently when the prices jump and the risks feel real. We start with a listener-driven problem: how to protect our dogs from ticks and Lyme disease without getting gouged, including why some o...
Episode 144: You Can Help Save Black Ash By Collecting Seeds
We talk with Vince from the Invasive Species Centre about how emerald ash borer is driving black ash toward endangered status in Ontario and what it means for wetlands, forests, and people. We also share practical ways to prevent the spread of ...
Episode 143: Foraging Wild Leeks In Ontario With A Film Set Chef
Spring doesn’t wait, and neither do ramps. When the forest floor finally opens up before the leaves fill in, wild leeks and ramps hit their short Ontario season and they are one of the most flavourful foods you can forage. We talk through where...
Episode 142: Northern Ontario Spring Reality Check
Southern Ontario is cutting grass while northern Ontario is still buried under feet of snow and that isn’t just a fun weather story. It’s a real window into what it costs to live, work, and build a life under the canopy when your “driveway” is ...
Episode 141: Chaga Tea Updates From Ontario Cottage Country
The world keeps getting louder, but the outdoors still teaches if you slow down enough to listen. We’re back with a spring check-in that starts on the highway and ends in the bush: I share what it was like driving across Canada with my son Garr...
Episode 140: Maple Season Secrets
Yellow sap in your bucket can feel like a panic moment, and it’s exactly the kind of mystery we love digging into. We sit down with Jeff Wagner of Wagner Maple Products, a working Ontario maple syrup producer, to sort out what’s normal, what’s ...
Episode 139: From Calgary To Ontario Through Every Season
A two-day drive across Canada will teach you more about weather, planning, and patience than any motivational quote ever could. We pick up right after a sprint of travel and shows, then hit the road from Calgary back to Ontario, watching storms...